Officials in Alabama have for the first time voted to consider revoking a public charter school’s right to operate—a step that could shutter a school before it ever opens.
AL.com reports that the vote by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission denied a request by Woodland Prep officials to extend the deadline to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the school. That denial opened the door for the Commission to begin revocation procedures.
Woodland Prep, which is being built in rural Washington County near Millry, has been the subject of public opposition since the state approved the charter in May 2018. The charter’s opening would cause existing neighborhood schools to close, opponents argue.
Some local residents, including charter school board members, say they’ve been harassed for supporting the school. Recruiting students to attend the school, which would focus on science, technology, engineering and math, has been difficult, supporters contend, because of the opposition by others in the community.
Charter school leaders say 131 students have submitted forms and planned to enroll at the school.
Construction delays forced charter officials to ask the commission for an extension on the certificate of occupancy, they say.
The Commission’s attorney, Lane Knight, says that because the certificate wasn’t obtained by the deadline required in the contract, the Commission is allowed to consider revoking the charter’s contract.
The Alabama Education Association (AEA), along with local school officials, have sued the charter school board, alleging fraud in obtaining the charter contract with the Commission.
AEA President Sherry Tucker says the union is not against all charters, only bad ones.
“Woodland Prep was going to a be a bad charter school," Tucker asserts. "Our local leaders saw it, local elected officials saw it, and the national experts who evaluated their application saw it.”
